"THAT'S WHY DARKIES WERE BORN" Anonymous 'Music Appreciation Record' EE- 1941

$

40

HERE is a record that neatly sums up the state of race politics in the United States, circa 1941:  "THAT'S WHY DARKIES WERE BORN," backed with "OL' MAN RIVER." Sung by an unidentified* African-American baritone, "Darkies" has the peculiar quality of being both uplifting and ghastly, sincere and cringe-worthy.  Introduced in the Broadway revue, "George White's Scandals of 1931" by (white) Everett Marshall, "Darkies" was widely covered, sung on records by (black) Paul Robeson, (white) Kate Smith, and in the film, "George White's Scandals of 1934," by (Italian) Jimmy Durante, in blackface!   

We find these two quintessentially "Negro" songs enshrined back-to-back on a "Music Appreciation Record"!  As this label usually was given over to well-worn classics like Brahms' "Hungarian Dance No. 5" and Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony," I assume this curious issue of "Darkies" / "Ol' Man River" was a well-meaning, though dubious, attempt to improve race relations, carried out by clueless white people, as yet uninformed (in 1941) by Martin Luther King, let alone Malcolm X.  I haven't seen any other "popular" material issued on "Music Appreciation Records."  

This original 78-rpm 1941 Music Appreciation Record is in splendid EE- condition. 

*The singer is unnamed, not because of any racial discrimination, but on account of NOBODY being identified on ANY "Music Appreciation Records."  For instance, their Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony (No. 8)," was simply credited to "Symphony Orchestra." We don't know which orchestra, or who conducted.    

*****

These records come from my private collection, which I have been accumulating since 1967, and now am downsizing!  My highest priority in these eBay auctions is to give you the best possible idea of a record’s true condition and aesthetic value.  I always post at least four clear images, showing the record fore and aft, a close-up of the label, and the whole disc, warts and all.  If my purple prose won’t cut it, the pictures will!  Shipping is done with expert care. Your record will brave Media Mail in a stout corregated box, between four sheets of cardboard and a couple of “packers.”  I hope you are amused by these descriptions, and by the quality of service being offered.